When chatting with colleagues in the industry, some believe that poor business is due to a lack of product variety or slow product updates. I think this is putting the cart before the horse-it's a case of getting the cause and effect backward. My understanding is that when a store's business is slow, it's not because customers have no choices, but because they're afraid to choose.
When a customer walks into your store, the real question on their mind isn't "What should I buy?" but "Which one will I not regret buying?" What customers fear most is spending money and not getting a product they truly like. If your store doesn't have such a product, the result will inevitably be that they look around and leave empty-handed-and naturally, your business won't thrive.
To ensure your store thrives, you must have a product that customers simply must buy once they walk in.
The purpose of this "must-buy" product isn't solely to make money; its greatest function is to build customer trust. Its true value lies in making customers feel, the moment they walk in, that "this store is reliable."
A "must-buy" product has several key attributes. You can check if your store has one that fits these criteria: First is familiarity-it's a product customers are very familiar with, including its flavor, texture, price, and so on. When customers buy something familiar, they feel less likely to be deceived; Second is high volume and high sales. Products that sell well without discounts or promotions are the ones customers trust most; sales figures during sales and promotions often contain some inflated numbers; Third is ease of recommendation. Some products have complex ingredients that are hard to explain clearly, and customers don't have the patience to listen to lengthy descriptions, so being easy to recommend is a key attribute of a must-buy product.
The issue of profit margins for "must-buy" items isn't specifically addressed here because these items aren't necessarily your highest-margin products (though you certainly shouldn't use loss-leading products for this purpose). These items serve to instill a sense of trust in customers; once they feel this trust, they'll be more likely to pick up your other products on impulse. "Must-buy" items are the starting point for building customer trust, and they can drive sales across your entire store.
The method to drive store sales is to have all other products "borrow" trust from the must-buy item. For example, place new arrivals or featured products next to the must-buy item so customers can see them and think, "Products from this store I trust shouldn't be too bad." This makes it much easier to recommend them.
The underlying logic is this: trust is transferable. Without a must-buy item, every new product you launch requires starting from scratch to convince customers; with a must-buy item, every new product builds upon that existing trust.
Following this logic, the improvement of a store's business can be understood as follows: use the value for money (quality-to-price ratio) of your "must-buy" products to earn customer trust, ensuring customers have a go-to option upon entering the store. Then, use these "must-buy" products to drive sales of other items, transferring that trust to them. This creates a "purchase-trust-repeat purchase" cycle, and the store's business will naturally thrive.
When implementing this in practice, don't get bogged down by concerns about "not having enough products" or "not updating the inventory fast enough." Instead, start by identifying the one product in your store that customers would buy without hesitation, focus on perfecting it, and use it to build customer trust in your store. Only then should you address the other issues.
